paranoianovel Can Chapter 263 be broken?
Can Chapter 263 be broken?
Can Chapter 263 be broken?
As soon as the words "open the cellar" were uttered, a wisp of smoke spontaneously rose from the incense burner.
The smoke was very faint, almost invisible, and instead of rising straight up, it slowly descended along the base of the wall.
It felt like being pulled by something underground, slowly seeping into the cracks between the bricks.
Everyone watched with bated breath.
A short while later, the pine brick at the base of the wall suddenly made a soft "click" sound.
Then, the entire brick shrank slightly inward by half an inch.
Lin Zhaoxuan's eyes lit up: "There really is a way!"
Lu Yuan showed no joy; instead, he grew even colder.
Because when the brick shrank, what was underneath was not the usual cellar entrance, but a small section of dark wooden plank.
Seven tiny copper nails were nailed into the wooden board, nailed in a very neat manner, as if someone had specially used them to lock the door.
And in the center of the wooden board, a single character was clearly engraved.
"for".
Lu Yuan stared at the words, remaining silent for a long time.
Zhou Heng, standing behind, couldn't help but whisper, "Could there be some kind of offering buried down there?"
Lu Yuan gently shook his head: "I don't know yet."
"But the fact that this character was carved on the base of the jar indicates that the cellar below was used for delivering goods."
After saying that, he took out a tiny folded yellow talisman from his pocket, held it between his fingers, and gave it a gentle shake.
After the yellow talisman was unfolded, the cinnabar lines on its surface were extremely dense, clearly indicating that it was a talisman prepared in advance to suppress the cellar.
Lu Yuan pressed his fingers together to form a talisman and slowly chanted, "A cellar has a cellar door, and a door has a door tooth."
"There are offerings for the roads, and offerings for the homes along the roads."
"I am borrowing this talisman not to take the treasure."
"Just ask which house this door leads to."
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands, reveal the way."
As he chanted, he stuck the talisman onto the wooden board.
As soon as the talisman was firmly affixed, a very faint muffled sound came from under the wooden board, as if something underneath was impatiently turning over.
Immediately afterwards, the seven copper nails began to vibrate slightly, one after another, as if they were being forced to loosen by the talismanic energy.
But just then, a short scream suddenly came from the other side of the hillside.
It is Xu Erxiao.
He was standing behind, obediently following along, but before he knew it, his foot stepped into a very shallow mud ditch, and he slipped and almost fell.
Wang Cheng'an quickly reached out to steady him, muttering under his breath, "Be careful, don't step on things!"
The sound was as if some mechanism had been triggered; the pine brick at the base of the wall suddenly sank inward, and a very thin crack appeared in the middle of the entire old wall.
First, a musty, earthy smell wafted out from the crack, followed by an even stronger smell of incense ash.
Lu Yuan's gaze darkened, and he immediately raised his hand to press down on the crack, shouting, "Take three steps back!"
"Don't come any closer!"
The group quickly retreated.
The slit slowly opened before everyone's eyes, revealing a narrow opening just wide enough for one person to bend down and pass through.
The narrow opening was dark and heavy, like an old well that had been buried for a long time, with a few blackened hemp threads hanging faintly on the well wall.
Lu Yuan leaned down and glanced inside, his eyes instantly turning even colder.
"really."
"It leads to an old cellar."
"And it's not just one layer."
Lin Zhaoxuan asked, "What did you see?"
Lu Yuan slowly stood up and said in a deep voice, "I saw the paper banner."
"There are also human bones."
Lu Yuan didn't explain much, but simply pushed the talisman in his hand forward again, the talisman sticking to the edge of the crack, steadily suppressing the yin energy that was surging outward.
"We can't force our way in here."
"The lower airway has been opened, but we don't know where it leads."
"First, remove the outer layer of the pot base, then go inside and take a look."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and looked at the spot where the black jar had originally been.
The fog over there had thinned a bit, and after the black jar shrank back, only a patch of muddy ground remained, with broken nails, scorched mats, and a clump of black ash scattered on the ground.
But Lu Yuan knew that the real trouble was not the jar itself, but that it and the old underground cellar had become intertwined.
A dark path, it borrows the altar to create a gate, borrows the cellar to nourish the mouth, and borrows the mountains to send forth breath.
As long as this line is not pulled, the land that the evil god venerates will not be severed.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and took out the items from his bag one by one.
Copper coins, black dust, incense ash, small yellow flag, short talisman, and mud-suppressing nail.
None of them were particularly large, but they were the most dangerous items on the entire journey.
He first handed three mud-pins to Lin Zhaoxuan, indicating that he should press down on the two corners of the cracked wall.
He then gave two more amulets to Song Qinghe and Zhou Heng.
As for Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao, they remained at the back, passing things or watching bags as they could, and were no longer allowed to move forward.
"I'll start the ritual in a bit."
Lu Yuan said in a low voice, "All of you, please don't speak."
"When I release the incense, you should breathe softly."
"If you hear knocking from inside, don't answer the door."
Zhou Heng nodded immediately.
Song Qinghe responded in a low voice, and Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao agreed repeatedly.
Lu Yuan then walked to the crack, squatted down, and gently broke off a piece of the Wenjiao incense stick. The tip of the incense stick flickered and spontaneously combusted.
As soon as the smoke came out, it went straight into the narrow opening.
This time, however, the smoke did not dissipate.
It went down the cellar passage, as if it were scouting the way for Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan stared at the wisp of smoke, his eyes narrowing little by little.
Because he had already figured it out—
This cellar passage is not simply an underground passage.
It was going deeper into the mountainside, where there was a second altar.
The real deal is probably yet to come.
The smoke from the incense burner seeped down the crack, as thin as a grayish-white thread, yet it didn't dissipate or break, sinking straight into the cellar.
Lu Yuan squatted in front of the crack, his eyes following the wisp of smoke downwards, his expression gradually turning cold.
"This cellar is deep."
Lin Zhaoxuan stood to the side and asked in a low voice, "The fact that Yan is moving steadily means there's a ventilation shaft down there?"
Lu Yuan shook his head: "It's through the vagina."
"This place used to be used for storing goods or for delivering things."
As he was speaking, a very soft "thump" suddenly came from the narrow opening.
It sounds like someone is banging on a wooden board inside.
Everyone's expression tightened. Zhou Heng subconsciously took a half step back, while Song Qinghe gripped the amulet in her hand even tighter.
Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao followed behind, standing obediently, their eyes fixed on the narrow opening, not daring to move.
Another sound.
"Thump."
""
This time it was clearer, like someone was slowly knocking on the door from inside with their knuckles.
Lu Yuan raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then slowly stood up and took out a small copper bell from his bag.
The bell wasn't big, but its clapper was made of wood; it wasn't meant to be shaken, but rather used to listen for air.
He hung the copper bell over the narrow opening, and the bell swayed slightly. Sure enough, it didn't make a sound, but instead gently spun half a circle in mid-air.
"It's windy inside."
Lu Yuan said in a low voice, "The wind rises from the bottom."
"This means there's more than one cellar below; there are other entrances as well."
Lin Zhaoxuan frowned and asked, "You mean, this place is connected to somewhere else?"
Lu Yuan raised his eyes and looked at the thicker fog at the end of the mountain valley: "It's not one cellar after another."
"Someone in the mountains has practiced Taoism."
"That path isn't for people to walk on, it's for things to walk on."
After saying that, he took out a small pinch of black ash from his sleeve and slowly sprinkled it down the narrow edge of the opening.
The black ash didn't scatter when it hit the ground; instead, it seemed to be sucked in by something, creeping down along the cracks in the bricks and disappearing into the cellar entrance in the blink of an eye.
Lu Yuan looked at it and slightly pursed his lips: "He has front teeth."
Zhou Heng was stunned: "Front teeth?"
Lu Yuan explained, "If there are teeth marks on the edge of the cellar door, it means that the bottom is not a dead end."
"A dead end is buried and left unopened, but a living end is left open."
"This cellar door can let in air."
Lin Zhaoxuan's expression grew even more serious: "So, shall we start now or not?"
Lu Yuan did not answer immediately, but instead took out two mud-suppressing nails from his bag, handing one to Lin Zhaoxuan and keeping the other in his own hand.
Then, he glanced at Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao, and said in a flat tone, "You two step back."
"Just hold the rear."
Lu Yuan then turned around, pressed his hand against the edge of the crack, and whispered, "If the cellar door doesn't open, the yin energy won't escape."
"I will borrow a nail to press down on its bone."
"One nail to suppress the left, one nail to suppress the right."
"If the front teeth are loose, break the mouth first."
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! Abruptly end!"
As soon as the word "fixed" was uttered, Lin Zhaoxuan and he almost simultaneously pressed the mud nails onto both sides of the cellar entrance.
Click.
Two very faint cracking sounds were heard.
Immediately afterwards, the slight draft that had been escaping from the cellar entrance suddenly stopped.
In that instant, the narrow opening seemed to be clenched shut by some unseen hand, and the faint knocking sound inside stopped for a moment.
Taking advantage of the situation, Lu Yuan took out a short talisman, stuck it to the entrance of the cellar, and whispered, "A talisman for asking for directions."
"Enter without startling the door, borrow the lamp but not the soul."
After the talisman was pasted in, the smoke path immediately changed.
The smoke, which had been sinking straight down, suddenly began to swirl in the cellar, as if it had encountered a fork in the road between the upper and lower levels.
Lu Yuan's eyes flashed, and he immediately realized that there was more than one cellar below, and it was also an old passageway with forks.
"Not far ahead."
He whispered, "This cellar leads back to the starting point."
Song Qinghe was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Lu Yuan explained, "It means that no matter which way you go, you'll eventually come back to the same path."
"This is the most sinister dish."
"If people go in without markings, they will eventually think they are going around in circles, when in fact they are being slowly led to another place."
Zhou Heng couldn't help but mutter, "This—this is just like being trapped in a maze!"
Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "It's even more sinister than being trapped in a maze."
"A ghost wall will make you bump into a wall, but this kind of path won't make you bump into a wall."
"It makes you feel like you're on the right track."
"The more you think it's right, the less you'll be able to get out of it."
After he finished speaking, he stood up, looked up at the work, and then at the sky.
The clouds hung extremely low, like a layer of gray cotton wool, piled up on the beam.
Logically speaking, it should be close to noon by now, but the light is still dim and not bright at all.
Lu Yuan felt very clear-headed. It wasn't that the weather was bad; it was that the road itself swallowed up the light.
He turned and glanced at everyone, then said in a deep voice, "Pack your things."
"We need to go down into the cellar."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Heng's Adam's apple visibly bobbed, and Lin Zhaoxuan also frowned, but neither of them said anything more.
Lu Yuan opened the canvas bag at his waist and sorted out the short talisman, copper belly, black dust, and incense ash one by one.
He then broke the incense stick into two pieces, keeping one piece tucked into his sleeve and the other between his fingers.
"remember."
He whispered, "After you go down into the cellar, don't look around, don't respond, and don't turn back."
"If you hear someone call your name, first recite the protective incantation."
Zhou Heng nodded quickly.
Lin Zhaoxuan replied in a deep voice, "Speak plainly."
Song Qinghe pressed the amulet tightly against the wall and whispered, "I'll go with you."
Lu Yuan didn't say anything more, and bent down to pry the pine brick at the entrance of the cellar completely to the side.
With a flick of the glass, the narrow opening below was cleared away, revealing a downward-sloping wooden ladder.
The wooden ladder was old and blackened, but copper plates were still nailed to the edges, indicating that it had been repaired later.
Lu Yuan stared at the ladder for a moment, his eyes turning slightly cold.
"Someone has been here."
"And it's not just once."
Lin Zhaoxuan followed his gaze and nodded: "The wooden ladder has been recently patched with nails, which means it has been moved recently."
Lu Yuandao: "Yes."
"This is not an abandoned cellar."
"Someone has been using it all along."
After saying that, he flicked the bronze belly towards the top of the ladder.
The bronze belly spun once in mid-air before landing on the first wooden step. Instead of rolling down, it came to a steady stop.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan's gaze deepened: "Lu Wen."
"It can be done."
Without further hesitation, he made a hand seal with his right hand, held an incense stick in his left, and was the first to bend down and go in.
As soon as the cellar entrance went dark, the wind was immediately shut out, leaving only the musty smell of damp wood mixed with a faint scent of incense ash.
The wooden stairs were very narrow, and when someone walked up them, the entire staircase made a soft creaking sound, as if there was water underneath, or as if someone was sighing softly below.
Lu Yuan walked in front, Lin Zhaoxuan was second, Zhou Heng and Song Qinghe followed closely behind, and Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao were at the back.
After walking up about a dozen steps, a bend suddenly appeared ahead.
The turn doesn't go straight down, but rather slopes diagonally to the left.
Lu Yuan raised his hand to stop, bent down and felt around the wall. He touched the wall with his finger and found that it was covered with a very thin layer of ash.
The ash was so fine that after wiping it away, a corner of the blackened wooden sign was faintly visible underneath.
He pulled out the wooden sign and his face immediately turned even colder.
The wooden sign didn't have words written on it, but rather a string of symbols used to suppress evil spirits. However, someone had added a stroke to the end of the symbol with a knife.
That stroke was added to make up the previous "回".
"It really is a loop road," Lu Yuan said in a low voice. "Someone deliberately turned the fork in the road into a loop, so that once people go in, they can't get out."
Lin Zhaoxuan asked, "Can it be broken?"
Lu Yuan flipped the wooden sign over, ran his fingertip across the repair mark, then took out a mud-suppressing nail, gently pressed it against the back of the sign, and muttered, "If the character '回' is not straight, the road will be crooked."
"Right under my feet, but crooked on your doorplate."
"If you want to recognize a wooden sign, recognize my nail first."
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! Turn around!"
As soon as the word "turn" was uttered, the wooden sign trembled slightly, then emitted a very faint "click".
The stroke that was added seemed to have suddenly lost its strength.
Lu Yuan casually folded the wooden sign and stuffed it into his sleeve.
"Go to the left."
"The left side is the true path, the right side is just going around in circles."
Everyone did as instructed and went to the left.
Further along, the cellar passage suddenly narrows and becomes masonry, with old carvings appearing on the walls on both sides.
The marks on the wall weren't random scribbles; they looked like scratches made by someone with their fingernails, varying in depth and densely packed, almost scratching the entire wall.
Zhou Heng felt a chill run down his spine and asked in a low voice, "What are these?"
Lu Yuan glanced at it, his tone calm but even colder: "Keeping the dates."
""
"It could also be a way of remembering people."
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